Now, immigrants to pay guarantee fee to enter UK

London: Immigrants living in the UK, who are wishing to stay in the country on a visa, will have to pay a fee as a guarantee that they will not scrounge off the system while staying.

Under the new law, if it is found they have milked taxpayers` cash or stayed beyond their visa, they will lose their bond.

The scheme will be spelled out by Home Secretary Theresa May as the latest in a series of immigration reforms.

But the rule will not apply to EU immigrants because it would breach European Human Rights laws on free movement, the Daily Star reports.

The move came as figures showed immigration into Britain is now at its lowest level in nearly a decade, with numbers falling by 74,000 in the 12 months to June last year, the report said.

A Home Office source said that they have reviewed all migration routes to the UK and have put in place measures to reduce immigration.

The source added that if one is allowed to come to the UK, they would have to put down a bond to guarantee that they won`t draw on certain services and will leave the country. When you leave, you can have your money back.

The source said that if `you don`t, we will put the money into an enforcement pot`.

But Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, warned such plans could `antagonise settled communities in Britain and enrage our allies, such as India`, the report added.